Oneshots | Fruits Basket | 1192131999

Thirteen Strings | The Tiger: Kisa Sohma

During the summer, the sun would be high up in the sky and the sweltering heat was unbearable. For many, it was agony. But for you, it was an ideal time and choice to grab a refreshing ice cream from the store after school. Graduation was rearing its head, and some well-deserved rewards were needed to keep the spirits alive and the motivation train going.

The usual occurred; you visited the local convenience store on your way home, bought yourself an ice block to enjoy the rest of the trek in hopes that it wouldn't melt before you consumed the entire popsicle. It was the usual, until you heard some children laughing and having fun.

Except one voice cried.

You passed a local playground in your area, finding a group of girls surrounding one in the middle, her face on the verge of tears while the others pointed and spoke nasty scathing comments in her face. You recognized the victim of this bullying tirade, immediately righting your stroll into the playground, catching the comments of the girls that circled her.

"You still look weird!" One yelled with distaste.

"Yeah, I bet she dyes her hair. Does your mom not know how to do that?" Scathed another.

"No, it's real," meekly replied the girl in the center, flinching from every finger that pointed at her.

"And you're a liar too!" obstencilby shouted one girl, pointing furiously at her. "What do you say we teach her a lesson about lying."

She shoved into the smaller one, proceeding to cause a domino effect in the others to do the same, until–

"Hey!" you yelled, your steps growing faster the closer you approached. "Stop that!"

The group of bullies turned to you, still with ice cream in hand, albeit half melted from the heat of the day before you decided to toss it onto the ground to avoid any more of its melted sugars coating your fingers. All of the girls, panicked by your approach, immediately took off from the small girl, running away from you while you stood by her.

"That's right, run off cowards!" you yelled again, watching each of them disappear from sight.

You sharply exhaled with frustration at the behaviour you've just witnessed before you turned to the girl before you, her arms clutching close to her body in both shame and sadness. You only smiled at her, kneeling to her level while you tried to look into her eyes, downcast towards the dusty ground of the playground.

"Hey Kisa," you greeted. "You okay?"

Kisa slowly turned her gaze towards you, her eyes brightening a little at your presence before they dulled again.

"Yeah," she meekly replied. "I tried to stand up to them, but they wouldn't listen."

"Sometimes people don't want to," you advised. "But you know what? I think you did the best you could, and no one would fault you for trying."

"Really?"

"Well, we could work on your assertiveness a bit more, but that comes from growth," you advised again, a little playfully this time. "And you took a good first step today."

There it was. That small smile you've come to learn from Kisa. After meeting her, you found how timid she was, always hiding behind a tall member of the Sohma family as a means to protect her. However, she grew assertive overtime despite this shy and timid nature. You wondered where she got the courage so quickly to do so.

"I'm sorry about your ice cream," she uttered, catching you off guard.

"Huh? Oh, that's nothing," you reassured with a smile. "I was thinking though, because it's a really hot day, maybe you want to join me in getting another one? And one for you as well?"

Kisa stared at you wide-eyed at the offer, before she timidly nodded in agreement. "Thank you Sunny," she spoke in a whisper, hiding her face away behind her bangs.

You smiled back at her while you offered her your hand, walking alongside until the both of you reached the convenience store again to purchase ice-cream for the both of you.